Buccaneers vs. Indianapolis Colts

Sunday, October 16, 1988 - Away Game

LOSS - Tampa Bay Buccaneers 31 Indianapolis Colts 35

Vinny Testaverde set a new career high of 469 passing yards in a second-half rally that overwhelmed the Colts' defense, but was not enough to overcome the Buccaneers’ early errors.

The Buccaneers gave up three sacks, were penalized 10 times for 86 yards, and allowed the Colts to score touchdowns on five consecutive possessions. Eric Dickerson rushed for two touchdowns, and Eugene Daniel returned an interception for another. Indianapolis rookie quarterback Chris Chandler threw a 28-yard touchdown pass to Bill Brooks and rushed for another, and was able to evade several potential sacks to gain first downs rushing. Still, the Buccaneers' comeback hopes ended only when a potential Bruce Hill pass reception on fourth-and-two with 59 seconds left was defensed by ex-Buccaneer John Holt, with Holt making contact with Hill but not drawing a flag.

Hill caught two touchdowns and a career-high 162 yards, which gave him a season yardage total second only to Jerry Rice in the NFC. Right guard Dan Turk suffered a knee injury, and was replaced in the lineup by rookie John Bruhin. Ron Hall had 7 catches for 121 yards. Don Smith and Lars Tate each rushed for a touchdown, although fullback James Wilder missed the game with an injury and the Buccaneers rushed for a season-low 39 yards.

Testaverde's 469 yards were a career-high (including high school, college, and professional play), the second-most in club history, tenth-most in NFL history, and the most thrown in a game since Ken O'Brien's 479 in 1986. It was the second-best performance by a second-year quarterback in NFL history, next to Dan Marino's 470 yards in 1984. His 340 second-half yards are a club single-half record, and his .595 completion percentage was the best in his career to date. The performance raised his passer rating enough to move him out of last place in the NFC, raised his season completion percentage above .500 for the first time, and left him leading all NFL quarterbacks in both yardage (1,839) and interceptions (16) thrown.

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